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With the popularity of FDM printing, 3D printers are left with a pile of empty filament spools. In this blog I explore how printers deal can deal with them. In the end I also propose some industry standards for the MasterSpool refills…

2017 is set to have many emerging market trends for 3D printing industry. As the 3D printers become more affordable, engineers are developing new printing techniques and applications for additive manufacturing (AM). Below are some trends to…

Though you’ll find hundreds of 3d printing communities on the World Wide Web, Thingiverse is probably the most popular of them all for several reasons. It is by far the most modern community that shares interesting and printable 3d print…

In August I had the privilege to have a booth at the Tiny Home Jamboree in Colorado Springs, CO. At the booth I presented  how 3D printing can be used to match the unique needs of the tiny home community. In a future blog I plan to…

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are an amazing show of athletic talent from around the world. As the world watches the best compete for the gold medal, I wanted to see how all the filaments that I have tested compare to each other. Just…

The technological age seems great to me, Who would have thought we could do so much with so little devices (Smartphones), or backup all our information in digital 'clouds' and have immediately access to it from almost anywhere in the world?…

What 3D-Printer to buy 2016 We have a lot of options these days. Companies left and right are popping up with their own take on 3D printers. Figuring out what is good and what is bad can be pretty difficult. Then you add budget into the mix…

In a previous blog  I developed a scoring system to look at the quality of filament. Others have asked me to develop a scoring system for 3D printers as well. With the wide choice of 3D printers on the market, I wanted to develop a way to…

As I started my journey in 3D printing I struck up a friendship with a 3D printer from Belgium, Yvan Van den Bossche. In 2015 he announced his Foldie 3D printer, and asked me to beta test his design. I got the files when I was still using…

The 3D printing world is littered with the bitter taste and empty wallets of consumers. 3D printing is now in a volatile period of growth and market stabilization. Future companies should learn from the examples of the past. In this blog…

In a previous blog  I described a possible method to recover PLA that has become unusable due to the moisture it has absorbed from the air. My hypothesis was thus: By putting stale PLA inside a vacuum clothing bag and drawing a vacuum, I…

The Tantillus Part 2 Get Organised So you have got your work area clean tidy and safe ,all of your tools,your hardware , printed parts and laser cut parts.If you are struggling to get anything have a look on this UK website . For our…

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a popular filament for beginning 3D printers. It prints at low temperatures (180 – 220 C) does not give of fumes (unlike ABS) and comes in a wide range of colors. It can be printed without a heated build plate,…